Northwestern University Athletics
Coach Walker Q&A Answers
10/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 8, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - Just like we promised, another Wednesday edition of 'Ask Coach Walker.'
Don't forget, you can ask Coach Walker a question by clicking on 'Ask Coach Walker' on the right column of NUsports.com's homepage. Fill out the form below and press send, then check back every Wednesday to see if Coach Walker has answered your question.
Here are today's inquiries:
John from Grand Rapids, Mich.: With what you have seen in the Big Ten so far this season, which team do you think has the best chance in the Big Ten?
Coach Walker: Northwestern! I think it's a wide open race that anyone can win. There are obviously a lot of quality football teams in our league. It's going to matter which teams can stay healthy and stay in the race until November. Teams also have to play well toward the end of the season, because that's when a lot of big games happen.
Pat from Plainfield, Ill.:Last Saturday the Gophers went after John Pickens. Has there been a thought to keep him on the short side of the field rather than the wide side? Or, is he the fastest of the linebacking corps?
Coach Walker: That's a good question Pat. I guess the simplest answer is that John is our sam (strong side) linebacker and a lot of our calls are going to put him into the field. I don't think by design they (Minnesota) came after John. There might be certain defenses that take them to his side of the formation. But as far as them trying to attack a certain player, I would bet more than likely they are attacking the scheme.
Chris from Minneapolis, Minn.: Why do you like to run out of passing formations, where you don't have enough blockers to pick up the blitz or linebackers or safeties?
Coach Walker: We are a spread-attack offense. By-in-large, it is designed to spread the defense out and force them to cover the perimeter. If plays are being run and we don't have enough personnel to block it is probably an error. We try to have a good match when we run and typically do not try to run it in outnumbered situations.
Michael from Illiopolis, Ill.: As a head football coach at Illiopolism we start six freshmen and sophomores at the varsity level, including a freshman QB. We have not won a game yet -- how do you keep a team fired up and wanting to play every down hard?
Coach Walker:I think it's important when you have a young football team that you keep working on the journey and where you are trying to go, in terms of a destination. Things don't happen overnight, Rome wasn't built in a day, and every other cliche along that line is accurate. The most important thing is to show consistent improvement and every day you are preparing to be a champion, because in a couple years those young guys are going to be old guys and they need to prepare themselves by never losing sight of the final destination.
Robert from Arlington Heights, Ill.: Last year I was very impressed with the play and confidence level of Brett Basanez at quarterback. This year, he looks hesitant, taking too much time to make decisions and throwing into coverage. Is his shoulder injury bothering him or is it the pass protection or something else?
Coach Walker: I would say it is the combination of a lot of things. We have not executed as an offense and often times the quarterback shoulders that responsibility. I feel like he is doing a good job, our offense does need to execute better, all 11 guys, not just Brett. Once we put it together and get 11 cylinders operating as one, we have the ability to be a very good offense.
Stephen from Chicago: What caused the turnaround in the Minnesota game? We came out like gangbusters but fell apart. Minnesota couldn't have adjusted that quickly and efficiently. Did we lose focus?
Coach Walker: I think it's a matter of losing focus. There were a couple of significant plays that obviously changed the momentum. We lost it, and did not do an effective job of getting it back. Sometime this season we will be faced with the same situation, hopefully the next time we face a situation where we are rolling along, playing well and our opponents make some plays, we need to learn how respond and play the next play and make the big play count on our side of the ledger.
